Jandowae farmer Douglas Wunsch devastated as storm destroys $250k crop

A Queensland farmer has lost an uninsured 500-acre crop worth $250,000 after it was torn to shreds by an intense storm he claims was about 3km wide.

A Queensland farmer says he has lost $250,000 worth of crops in a freak hailstorm, which he planned to use the proceeds of to set his children up.

Jandowae farmer Douglas Wunsch said he was left staring at a “quarter of a million dollars just laying out in the paddock” after a severe thunderstorm tore through his property in the Western Downs yesterday.

Hail up to 7cm was recorded north of Injune about 1.20pm and a destructive hailstorm swept over the Western Downs about 3.30pm wiping out crops across the region.

Hail at Tuckerang. Photo: Douglas Wunsch

Mr Wunsch said his uninsured barley crop on a 550-acre paddock at Tuckerang was torn to shreds by a concentrated “hailstorm” that was about three kilometres wide.

“It started about 3pm, it accumulated into more of a cyclonic-type, tornado-type thing, and the hail obviously got denser and more volatile like a hailstorm,” he said.

“It was just constant hail from, from large marble size down to pea size, but the velocity of it and the density of it, it was all on there.

“I think its range in width was probably only about 3km, it was a narrow strip which continued on its path. It was frightening.”

Hail destroyed Douglas Wunsch’s barley crop at Tuckerang near Jandowae. Photo: Douglas Wunsch

The 65-year-old said he was planning to use the proceeds from the crop to help his children out.

“I wanted to sell out and do something with my life and do things for my children and help them out financially,” he said.

“I looked at a quarter of a million dollars just laying out the paddock that I can’t put back in my pocket.”

Hail covered the ground of the Tuckerang property. Photo: Douglas Wunsch

Mr Wunsch reasoned that he didn’t insure the crop because he thought the region wouldn’t be impacted by severe weather.

“I didn’t insure the crop because I didn’t think there was going to be a lot of weather here,” he said.

“I thought the storms would be more intense on the coast, as well as the Scenic Rim.”
Mr Wunsch experienced a range of emotions following the storm, including anger and sadness.
In an expletive-laden video, Mr Wunsch voiced his frustrations following the storm.

Mr Wunsch said himself and his brother-in-law, who never cried, were also brought to tears.

“I was shattered, I had tears in my eyes, because this was going to hopefully be my last crop on that property: he said.

“My brother-in-law, who was with me and is a very strong man, the only time I’ve ever seen him cry was at the funerals of my two late brothers and mother, he broke down himself, and that got me losing more tears.”

Fellow Western Downs residents have also shared reports of significant damage on their properties.

Jandowae resident Krystal Clair was at home with her four children when their property got pummelled.

“We hid in the hallway, I was worried that we were going to have window damage,” she said.

“It was scary for my kids and I.

“We’ve had roofs off sheds, gutters falling off the house and shade damage to the side of our house.

“We’ve had water damage to our flooring and carpets, we’ve had caravans written off.

“We’ve lost a number of trees and tree branches.”

The BOM radar during the severe thunderstorm at Jandowae. Photo: BOM

Mr Clair said residents in the area were not prepared for what was to come.

“It came out of nowhere,” Ms Clair said.

“There were some vague storm warnings online, but nothing that indicated it was going to be this bad for our particular area.

“It started with a bit of wind, a bit of rain, and very quickly there was a huge amount of hail.”

Storm-damaged crops at Jandowae. Photo: Brendan Taylor

AgForce Grains President Brendan Taylor, who is also a farmer in the storm-ravaged region at Warra, said crop losses are likely to be in the region of multimillion-dollar losses.

“There’s going to be massive, massive losses in the area,” Mr Taylor said.

“We’ve had an excellent season, a tremendous growing season, big yields, we were on.

“A big chickpeas area got hit, chickpeas are very valuable at the moment, they’re trading up around $1,000 a ton, the crops were all but mature.

“It’s certainly going to leave people scratching their heads thinking what the f**k was that?”

Trees were stripped of their leaves and some even snapped in half at Jandowae following a severe thunderstorm. Photo: Brendan Taylor

Mr Taylor said it wasn’t an ordinary storm and carved a “path of destruction”.

“Wherever that storm went, carved a path of destruction, nuts,” he said.

“Usually those type of storms are quite isolated and only do severe damage in one spot and then fizzle out.

“That one just kept going, and wherever it went, carved a path to destruction.”

Western Downs Regional Council has been contacted for comment.